My credit card is a mangled thing. Its blue plastic backing is peeling so much that it doesn’t work in swipe machines; it looks like a dog chewed it up and spat it out.
It seldom leaves my wallet anymore. But that doesn’t matter. In the two weeks before writing this story, I spent more than $4,000 on my card without laying eyes on it.
Each of these transactions was made online, where my card number is stored. That’s probably why I didn’t flinch when I spent $333 on groceries for a weekend with friends, $48.34 on a pizza through Uber Eats, or even $1,533 for an Airbnb when my extended family came to visit. Without having to type in my card number, the purchase seemed less significant.
Frictionless transactions are common in today’s economy—you can wave your cell near a cash register, press “buy” on Amazon without really knowing which credit card you’re charging, and send money to a stranger via your
